My Battle
by TheWordThief
Summary: 'We're a team, yes, why else would we sit here and annoy each other whilst you all pretend you aren't worried about me but we're also individuals with our own battles. ' The Avengers and Tony Stark have a conversation after the events of Iron Man 3 (Obviously spoilers) One-shot but can be seen as a companion to 'Should Have Been There'.


**Author's Note: Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed/ added to favourites / followed my other Avengers/ Iron Man one-shot, Should Have Been There. Your support means so much to me and keeps me motivated- I adore writing and it's so nice to see that other people enjoy what I've written! The following one-shot can be seen as a companion piece to that one, however both work on their own. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Iron Man or any part of the Marvel universe.**

He's heading back inside, the reactor surely at the bottom of the ocean by now, when his phone rings.

Looking back, he wasn't sure who he was expecting to be on the other end of the line. But it wasn't him.

"Tony."

"Cap. I wasn't expecting you."

"Yeah, I suppose you weren't. Tony I…"

He stops, as though searching for the right words.

"We need to talk."

Tony rolls his eyes. "We _are _talking Cap."

"Very funny. I mean face to face."

They're all there when he walks in. Well, not all of them. There's a noticeable lack of any demi-gods but he's pretty sure there's no phone signal in Asgard anyway.

"Tony!"

Surprisingly, it's Natasha who approaches him first. Unsurprisingly, she slaps him round the face. But it's gentle and he can see the worry behind her cool mask.

"You idiot." She hisses. "What the hell were you thinking?"

"I wasn't." he answers honestly because of course he wasn't, if he was then he wouldn't have put Pepper in danger.

Natasha opens her mouth and he thinks she wants to say something else but she closes it, thinks better of it, guides him to a seat.

"Tony!"

A cacophony of voices greet him as he sits down, welcoming him. Dr Banner slaps him on the back like a brother and Clint nods from his position in the corner.

Steve leans forward.

"Tony. It's good to see you. You had us worried for a minute there."

Tony laughs, brushing off the comment as though it doesn't matter. It does matter. He knows it matters, not just because the Cap's right, it had been stupid and dangerous and worrying but also because look, Stark, people care. People never used to but now there's people who care. He looks Steve directly in the eyes.

"Yeah. I think I had myself worried for a moment as well."  
Bruce leans closer, eyes full of concern and curiosity. He doesn't buy the cocky billionaire act anymore. None of them do.

"What happened?"

And he wants to tell them, he really does. But he doesn't think he can fully put it into words right now. Can't cope. So he gives them a sketchy overview and even then when he mentions Pepper falling, falling, into the fire, he chokes up. When he's finished, he can tell from their expressions that they know there's more, that he's missed out the details.

"That's not everything, is it Stark?" Clint confirms. He shakes his head.

"No. I-give me time. I'll tell you everything, in full hideous detail, just-give me time."

They nod and understand that some things are too fresh to be re-lived and for this he's grateful, remembering that of course they understand, they've all got their own demons to fight.

Steve is sitting across from him, glaring at nothing in particular.

"Cap?"  
The super-soldier looks up, hesitates before the words are forced from his mouth.

"We thought you were dead Tony!"

"I know and, listen, seriously, listen, this won't happen very often. I'm sorry. I don't apologise very often so savour the moment. I know and I'm sorry."  
The Captain interrupts him.

"No, Tony, we thought you were dead. We saw you challenge the Mandarin, we saw your house burning, we saw the headlines and we did _nothing_. We weren't _there _Tony, we weren't there when you needed us to stop you from doing something stupid and we weren't there to pick up the pieces when you did."

Tony looks around at the familiar faces and for the first time notices the hints of guilt plaguing all of them. He sighs. Part of him is angry that these people, who were supposed to be his friends, supposed to have his back, didn't. Left him to deal with it all on his own. Did they forget he almost died for them back in New York? Didn't they realise he's been plagued with nightmares since? But as he looks at their worried faces, notices the dark cirles under their eyes, he realises that he can't be angry. Not at these people.

"It's fine."

"No, Tony, it's really not-"

"Steve, shut up. I'm telling you, it is fine. From the moment my bodyguard, my _friend, _was caught in that blast, a blast he would have been nowhere near if he wasn't doing his job, then it was personal. It wasn't about America, it wasn't about challenging a terrorist for the hell of, it was about me and him and a bitter-sweet thing called revenge. Listen to me, all of you. You didn't show up and that's _fine._ We're a team, yes, why else would we sit here and annoy each other whilst you all pretend you aren't worried about me but we're also individuals with our own battles. Some battles need to be fought and won alone and this was one of mine."

There's a silence after he's done but it's a comfortable silence, as though a terrible weight has been lifted from several pairs of shoulders. He smiles sadly, tone softer and more serious than his team-mates are used to.

"Seriously guys, it was my battle, not yours. And it's over."

They nod slowly and he smirks a familiar, lop-sided grin, clapping his hands together briskly.

"Excellent! Now, who's for shawarma? I could murder some shawarma."

As he turns away to order, he misses the shared smiles between the others as they watch the friend they thought they'd lost.

_Tony's back. _

**Really hope you enjoyed this! I thought about how I think Tony would have felt knowing none of them helped and I thought that whilst he might be angry, probably would be angry, his vendetta against the Mandarin and everything that followed was a personal battle and journey that he needed to face alone and I think he would have realised that. Also I think the events of the movie would have mellowed him a bit, so he's less likely to fly off the handle and lose his temper, as last time he did that he gave his address out to a terrorist...**

**Please let me know what you think! I really appreciate your feedback and support.**

**TheWordThief**


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